1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a keyswitch and a keyboard including the keyswitch.
2. Description of Related Art
A keyboard is an essential input device for inputting characters or numbers when using a personal computer. Consumer electronics used in daily life or large-scale processing equipment used in industry need input devices having keyswitch structures for operating the consumer electronics products and the processing equipment. Known keyswitch structures are generally classified into dome switches and rubber switches.
In order to balance the force that a user applies onto a keyswitch of a keyboard, a scissors-like supporting structure is typically disposed under a keycap of the keyswitch for guiding the keycap to move vertically. Therefore, the force can be evenly distributed on the keycap, regardless of whether the force is applied at an edge or a corner of the keycap, so that the keyswitch can be easily pressed and operated by the user.
Furthermore, a screen-printing technique is used to print characters on a conventional keyboard. However, the raw materials used in such printing cause environmental problems. Moreover, after long-term use, the printed characters become worn and are not easily recognized. To allow visibility when working in dark places, keyboards having LED (light-emitting diode) backlights have been developed. A known configuration involves disposing each of the keyswitches of the keyboard (or each of the keyswitches thereof requiring visibility) on a light emitting-diode.
However, because the conventional illuminated keyboard includes structural components (e.g., a keycap, a scissors-like supporting structure, a linkage, etc.) provided in a stacked configuration, the problem of light leakage must be considered. In addition, the energy consumption and costs increase with the high number of light emitting-diodes used in such a conventional illuminated keyboard. Furthermore, the structural stacked components in the conventional keyboard are symmetric, and such a configuration blocks the light emitted from the light emitting-diodes that is directed toward the patterns on the keycaps, and thus the patterns are not easily recognized.